The Nashville-area real estate market started off 2014 less robustly than it ended 2013.

The Greater Nashville Association of Realtors reported 1,779 closings in January, growth of 8.9 percent against the same month last year. That's a big dip from 2013, when monthly year-over-year gains were regularly in the high teens and low twenties.

On the flip side, pricing is holding its own. The median residential price for a single-family home during January was $195,000 and for a condominium it was $165,000. Compared to December, the homes number is down slightly while the condo figure is up about 6 percent. Year over year, January's prices were up 17 percent and 10 percent, respectively.

Inventory at the end of January was 13,962, compared with 15,478 in January 2013. That represents about a four-month supply, but inventory is up 300 units from December, which GNAR says is to be expected as homes go on the market in preparation for warmer weather and the important spring sales season.